Date:
15th November 1976Location:
Approx. 25 miles off the coast Oahu, HawaiiMission:
A U.S. Navy Ship has orders to search and recover
lost "Dummy" Torpedoes. Result:
The most exciting Shark discovery

As the Chute like drift anchor was
being towed, suddenly something huge caused it to drag down. On reeling
it up back to the ship, the crew are amazed to find a huge fish, entangled
in a deep-water net.

With a mouth measuring
1 metre wide at the tip of a 4.5 metres long brownish coloured flabby
body, it was soon realized that nobody had ever seen this species before!!

It took about 7 years
before this species was identified and named as Megachasma pelagios,
or as it is better known,
The Megamouth Shark.

The First
Megamouth Shark, (Megachasma
pelagios)Discovered in Hawaii on Nov. 15th. 1976

Eight years after the original discovery,
a second Male specimen was brought up dead, in a fishing net off the
coast of California.

This Specimen washed up on the Gapang
beach, Sumatra, right in front of Ton Egbers house.

Ton writes: I think there can be no
doubt anymore that the shark specimen that washed ashore here today
on Gapang Beach, less than 30 meters away from our doorstep, literally,
is the rare shark species Megachasma pelagios.

The shark must have died only somewhat
earlier, as it wasn't even smelly at all. Total length is 177 cm,
standard length (precaudal) 115 and caudal length 62. Pectorals are
33.

(click
small images to enlarge)

Sharkman
Comments:

Megamouth 23
(nicknamed MEMO Jr.) is now having a series of tests done at the LIPI
in Jakarta.

Sharkman's World
will be keeping you informed of the developments in this story.

I would like
to thank Ton for passing on the Info and for allowing me to use his
photos.

Like so many people, as a teenager I became fascinated by the oceans
after reading a book called "The Silent World" written by
the late Jacques Cousteau. I knew that I had to explore the oceans
and enjoy the peace and serenity it offers to those who try to capture
the untold beauty it represents.

If you are like me, I am sure that
you dream of doing something that has never been done before. If you
are lucky you will never stop the dreaming, because sometimes those
dreams do come true.

On October 22, 1990 my dream became
reality. I shot underwater photographs and video of a living Megamouth
shark.

The summer of 1990 in Southern California
was one full of surprises brought on by ocean temperatures that were
warmer than usual. Some of the unexpected treats were large schools
of yellowtail, Dorado, trigger fish and a few sea turtles. Naturally
the biggest surprise of all was the living Megamouth shark.

Megamouths are so rare that they
were not known to exist until the first one was discovered off the
coast of Hawaii in 1976. Four more specimens were discovered off the
coasts of California, Australia and Japan prior to the Dana Point
Megamouth, but none had lived long enough to be studied or photographed
alive.

I was at my Capistrano Beach home
editing slides of baby Garibaldi, a local fish, when a friend called
to tell me that a live Megamouth had been accidentally captured in
a local fisherman's drift net. This would be the sixth Megamouth seen
by man. When he hauled up the net, the fisherman knew that he had
something unusual and he towed it seven miles by the tail, back to
Dana Point Harbor. It was there in the harbor that it was finally
identified as the rare Megamouth shark. Dr. Don Nelson, a shark behavior
expert at California State University in Long Beach, was summoned
to come down. He planned the radio tagging, study and release of the
shark.

"That thrill of a lifetime"
came at 1:30 P.M. when I slipped over the side of my boat and finally
saw the shark. The shark was approximately 15 feet long and weighed
about 2,000 pounds. The mouth was about 3 feet wide, big enough for
a small diver with gear to swim into. This Megamouth, like the previous
five, was a male, which was evident by the claspers on the underside
of the shark. These gentle giants of the deep feed on krill and plankton
so even though they have many vestigial teeth they are not considered
a threat to larger animals.

As we approached, the shark seemed
to welcome our attention and showed no apparent signs of nervousness,
which is more than I can say for the divers in the water, including
myself.

I spent nearly four hours in the
water with the shark, and I was lucky enough to not only capture the
event with still photos and video footage, but also to assist in the
studying, tagging and releasing of a creature that is hardly ever
seen by man.

During that time we used a length
of rope with equally spaced knots to measure the length and circumference
of the shark.
Naturally we had to take some tissue samples of the shark in order
for the marine biologists to try to determine if it was healthy.

Two transmitters were attached to
the shark - one to track it vertically in the water column and the
second one to track it horizontally.

We were constantly touching this
strange visitor who was usually at a depth of about 450 feet during
daylight hours. He did not seem to mind our prodding, but rather tolerated
us as if we were just a part of his daily routine.

After all the measurements and tissue samples were taken and the transmitters
were attached, the rope that restrained the shark by the tail was
finally severed. It was exhilarating to see him swim slowly and calmly
away from us to the safety of the deep.

The radio transmitters that allowed
him to be monitored for the following three days revealed a vertical
migration pattern. From dawn to sunset he swam slowly at 450 to 500
feet into the prevailing current, apparently feeding on krill that
were at that depth during the daytime. From sunset to sunrise he ascended
to 39 to 46 feet below the surface to feed on the krill as they also
ascended. The extreme daylight depth could explain why the Megamouth
shark is so rarely spotted. Dr. Nelson stated that the tracking of
the vertical migration was one of the most significant shark research
events in modern history.

Since the Dana Point Megamouth in
1990, eleven more have been seen, but none photographed alive underwater.
For me, this once-in-a-lifetime encounter with a rare visitor from
inner space was definitely the high point of my 40 years of diving.

So please, keep on dreaming. Your
dream could be the next one to come true.

Tom Haight
19th. August 2002

Tom Haight bio

Tom Haight is a Marine
Wildlife Photographer specializing in underwater photography and video.
In his 40 years of diving his stock and assignment photography business
has take him to some of the top dive destinations and wildlife habitats
in the world.

When not traveling,
Tom also a teaches PADI specialty courses underwater photo and video
courses at Sport Chalet stores in Southern California.

As a retired law enforcement
officer, he enjoys volunteering his time to work with and assist the
Rangers and Lifeguards on the California State Parks Dive Rescue Teams.